Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw was a colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first all African-American civil war regiment. He died during the Assault on Fort Wagner, suffering three gunshot wounds, dying almost instantly, all while trying to move his regiment forward. He is most well known for the 200+ letters he sent to his family, mainly his mother. During Colonel Status Shaw was assigned colonel to the 54th Massachusetts Infantry after his previous battle in Antietam. He was offered this by his father, who was an abolitionist. At first, Shaw declined the offer, but eventually agreed after pondering the offer a bit longer. During his time as colonel, he doubted that his men would see battle, but the perseverance of his men surprised Shaw, and he started to try and look for a way to get the 54th into battle. After the realization that black soldiers would be paid less than white soldiers, the 54th lead a boycott until their pay was raised back up to the amount that white soldiers earned. On June 11, 1863, Shaw wrote about war crimes committed against the town of Darien, Georgia. This included firing upon citizens and chasing them out of town, looting the buildings, and setting fire to the town. At first, Col. James Montgomery ordered Shaw to have the 54th set fire, but Shaw refused, noting in a letter to his mother that despite the reasons that Montgomery gave for burning the town, he said that the reasons "make it nonetheless revolting to wreak our vengeance on the innocent and defenseless." Death of Shaw and the Assault on Fort Wagner The 54th was sent to Fort Wagner to assault the fort, being told that there would be many casualties. As the 54th charged towards the fort, they were pinned behind a dune by Confederate gunfire. Shaw tried to rally his regiment, charging by himself towards the fort, shouting "forward, fifty-fourth, forward!" He was shot in the chest three times and died almost instantly on the spot. The regiment eventually retreats after trying to breach the fort, having lost almost half of it's men in the assault. Shaw's death and the assault that followed was also the climax in the 1989 drama war film Glory. Memorable Scenes from Glory (This is meant for answering the poll) Prayers of the 54th Death of Shaw (Glory Portrayal) (Note: There is no clip for Shaw's death, as the scene contains blood, visible gunshot wounds, and flashing lights/colors, and is therefore not school appropriate. If you wish to watch the clip yourself, go to YouTube and search up "Glory Shaw's Death Scene") During the Assault on Fort Wagner, Shaw is seen taking cover behind a sand dune along with his men. He takes out and loads his revolver, then gets up and runs up the dune towards the fort, shouting "Forward, 54th!!" in an effort to rally his troops. This attempt fails, and Shaw is shot in the abdomen, temporarily incapacitating him. He then gets up, only to get shot in the chest twice. He dies almost instantly, then drops to the ground. Only after this does the 54th get up and sprint to the fortress in almost a frenzy. It is revealed later that the fort was never captured, and the 54th suffered almost 300 casualties during the assault. In the final scene, we see Shaw being buried in a mass grave with his men, and see another body sliding down next to Shaw's body. This soldier was the most impactful in the movie, and makes this scene even more heartfelt. shawmemorialphotograph.png|The 54 Massachusetts Memorial, standing proudly in Boston. shawmemorialnobackground.png|Ditto, with no background and in a gold/bronze color. shawmemorialcloseup.jpg|Ditto, closeup to show more detail. Category:Browse